KWV Emporium

KWV Cathedral Cellar & House of Fire

Founded in 1918, KWV regulated the whole South African wine industry from the 1920s to the early 1990s. The Cathedral Cellar holds enormous carved vats. The House of Fire is the building where KWV distilled its first brandy, in 1926. KWV says its 20 Year Old pot-still brandy won the Best Brandy in the World Trophy at the 2015 International Spirits Challenge. South African brandy regulations are stricter than Cognac: 3-year minimum ageing (vs 2 for Cognac) in 340-litre barrels. The first Cape brandy was distilled by an unnamed cook on the ship De Pijl in Table Bay, 1672.